I would say those stating ability are missing the point. Of course its ability but how do you judge those people before you get a chance to judge ability. Do you simply meet everyone that offers up a CV as it doesn't really matter what they've done they could come in and blow you away?
Don't get me wrong I get what you are saying, but when you look at an application you cannot really judge ability on anything other than achievements (which are either academic or experience based) and so you are back to square one. How do you judge who has the ability to be considered for interview?
In a word, experience.
I will be 65 this year, so I've had plenty of chances to work out how to assess people. In my present work, I look for four things -
- Work ethic
- Intelligence
- Honesty
- Ability
I have never asked anybody for their qualifications - in fact, I have found that the worst employees were sometimes the best qualified.
The first steps in the interview process, is to weed out the nonsense. This is done by the very structure of the way you ask the applicants to approach you. For example, if you are looking for a junior journalist, get them to phone you and tell them on the phone that they have one hour to get a signed letter on one A4 page to you. That tells you if they can think on their feet and complete a simple task under time pressure.
If you are looking for a web designer, ask for their website and other examples of their work. You can do these things on the phone. No need for long pointless and silly CVs and letters telling you how enthusiastic and honest they claim to be!
If you are not employing a first-timer, that telephone call should also tell you what they have achieved so far. The job they are applying for should be a natural step-up in their career. The position must make sense for both employer and employee.
Having whittled down the usual flood of hopefuls to just five or ten, now comes the interview.
We need intelligent people, so I look for someone who can riff with words, the way a jazz musician plays a solo. I expect them to be able to discuss anything and everything, from Nicki Minaj to car engines, from gardening to cooking. I am looking for an inquiring, hungry mind that finds a link between The Goon Show and scallops. I look for fluency of speech and speed of thought.
Above all, I am looking for someone who has opinions and tells me things I didn't know and someone who asks me a lot of searching questions about the company and the job. I like it when an applicant puts me on the spot or disagrees with something I have said.
Having discussed Nicki Minaj's buttocks and the state of the economy, we move on to the candidate's technical ability. A quick an in-depth discussion of the field in question soon tells me if this person knows what they are talking about. If you are hiring a builder, I suppose you would discuss frogs and noggins, trusses and health and safety rules. If you are hiring a lumberjack, you would discuss Stihl versus Husqvana, John Deere versus Case.
Honesty is a harder one to judge and I have had my slip-ups here in the past. A big no-no is older men who live on their own, after a series of broken relationships. Also I avoid people who are too quick to agree with me or try to please too hard. I will also ask some technically trick questions or make a technically incorrect statement and see if they pick up on it.
The interview will be a relaxed and even jolly affair over coffee, but will tell me a great deal. After chatting to all ten or so, one usually has two or perhaps three tops, that could fit the bill. Each gets a paid one-day try-out at the rock face. That usually decides the matter.
